Netflix launched Broken (Consumer Society, in Spanish), a documentary series made up of four independent episodes. Each explores the manufacturing processes and cultural forces behind demand for four products that many see and consume on a daily basis: makeup, e-cigarettes, cheap furniture, and plastic.
Broken is from the creators of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, the series originally televised on CNN that follows the late chef and author Anthony Bourdain. If you’ve seen this show, you’ll have an idea of Broken’s style: direct, personal and sometimes heartbreaking.
the episodes
The episode “Deadly Dressing Rooms” explores the business strategies of furniture companies such as Ikea that, according to the documentary, hide behind a façade of sustainability to hide the reality of an industry that produces furniture that is not very friendly to the environment and is prone to overturn and cause fatal accidents.
In “Recycling Scam” we are shown how corporations market single-use plastic products as recyclable. It exposes the reality that much of the “recycling” of plastic actually consists of little more than moving the waste to a landfill, or onto beaches in Southeast Asia.
On the other hand, “Makeup Chaos” explores how scarcity marketing and the overvaluation of the most exclusive makeup brands create the conditions in which it thrives. counterfeit makeup contaminated with bacteria, lead, arsenic, and more.
Finally, “Big Vape” demonstrates that, although initially designed for adult use, electronic cigarettes have become a source of nicotine addiction for adolescents thanks to marketing strategies.
These chapters are about an hour long and can be viewed in any order.
the end message
The episodes touch on modern topics such as self-confidence, the use of the Internet, influencer culture, the effect of social media marketing, gratification through the use of unhealthy products, and the environmental and physical harms of producing plastic from a only use.
The series offers a diverse set of perspectives, including the voices of those who contribute to the harm caused by the aforementioned products, such as lawyers representing the plastics industry, vendors of counterfeit makeup, and representatives of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. United States consumer.
Amid the multitude of opinions and perspectives, the message of the series is that there is an urgent need for change when it comes to the regulation of harmful products and manufacturing practices.
The program encourages us to reflect on why we spend our money on certain specific recreational products. The realities presented by the series can even make us feel complicit in these companies.
Each episode is a call for more government regulation, an increased awareness on the part of consumers, that we have the real power to shape the products that come to us, even though it so often seems otherwise.